Viva Mexico! Minneapolis celebrates Mexican Independence Day

With the Grito de Dolores (The Cry of Dolores), the Mexican War of Independence was declared on September 16, in 1810. In the small town of Guanajuato, the fight began to rid Mexico of Spanish Colonial rule. This national holiday is celebrated far beyond the borders of Mexico–including in Minneapolis, which has a large Latino population. The Powderhorn/Phillips neighborhood is full of Mexican and Latino-owned businesses, restaurants and shopping centers all eager to showcase their heritage. Minneapolis held not one, but two fiestas to mark the occasion on Lake street. The first took place last Sunday and included Mexican dancers, caballeros showing off their horses, children screaming with delight in various bouncy houses and folks enjoying music while eating elotes–roasted corn covered in chili. The second celebration happened at the Mercado Central at the corner of Bloomington Avenue and Lake Street where traditional Chinelo dancers delighted the crown while music filled the air.

Tweets from TC Daily Planet

Today’s top stories

UMN student government reaffirms push to rename campus buildingsThe Minnesota Student Association released a letter in the wake of a decision that came after nearly a year-long contention over four University of Minnesota campus buildings named after figures with racist, anti-semitic pasts.

Bde Maka Ska is Lake Calhoun again, appeals court rulesOver one year ago, along with the support of the Hennepin County Board, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Landwehr reverted a Southwest Minneapolis lake to its original Dakotan name, “Bde Maka Ska,” meaning “white earth lake.” The lake was named after then-Vice President John C. Calhoun, a proponent of slavery and eventual ideologue of the Confederate south.

Rosy Simas of Rosy Simas Danse is Haudenosaunee, Seneca, Heron Clan. She brings a Native feminist lens to the contemporary dance world with her body of work, the latest of which is “Weave,” a collaborative dance project.